Pneumatic thread holder for weft replenishing looms



March 21,, 195@ R. G. TURNER 2,501,423

PNEUMATIC THREAD HOLDER FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed Oct. 18, 1947 INVENTOR RICHARD 6. TURNER ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 21, 1950 PNEUMATIC THREAD HOLDER FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 18, 1947, Serial No. 780,674

This invention relates to improvements in weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a pneumatic thread holder so constructed as to prevent objectionable movement of weft ends leading from reserve bobbins into the thread holder to the end that abrasion and slackness may be reduced to a minimum.

Weft replenishing mechanisms operate with a plurality of reserve bobbins having weft ends which lead to some form of thread holder. Heretofore I have proposed a pneumatic type of thread holder which has gone into general use more particularly in connection for looms weaving fabrics made of fine yarns. Subatmospheric pressures are provided by a pump having a piston which is reciprocated by the lay of the loom, and because of the nature of the pump the partial vacuum within the thread holder is created intermittently with intervening periods during which atmospheric pressure is restored within the holder. In a thread holder of this type there is some likelihood that elastic yarns will be drawn into the thread holder when subatmospheric pres- T sures are created and then have a slight retrograde movement back toward the magazine when normal atmospheric pressures exist. This constant back and forth motion of the threads is likely to abrade them with resultant breakage, and the threads are also likely to become slack at a time when the lay is moving forwardly under them in a position to engage and break them.

It is an important oblect of the present inven tion to providean improved form of thread holder constructed with holding means within the air passage of the holder the purpose of which is to prevent the aforesaid retrograde movement of the 12 Claims. (01. 139-247) tend as they enter the tube, and provide a battle produce at least one bend in the weft threads, I

or both of these features may be utilized.

Morespecifically it is an object of the invenserve b binsand'aroun which th weft endsexsecured in stationary position within the tube and having preferably a serrated edge facing in a direction opposite to that in which the aforesaid smooth edge faces and so located as to create a bend in the weft ends. One or more internal bafiles may be used depending upon the type of weft being woven. The thread holder is made so that tubes of different types can be interchanged.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein two forms of the invention are shown,

Fig, 1 is a side elevation of the upper forward part of a loom having my invention applied thereto, the lay and shuttle box being shown in section,

. Fig. 2"is an enlarged side elevation of the preferred form of the thread holder as shown in Fig. 8 is a plan view looking in the direction of arrow 8, Fig. 7, and

Figs. 9 and 10 are diagrammatic views of the weft ends showing the bends therein formed,

respectively, in the preferred and modified formsof the invention.

Referring to Fig. l, the loom frame to supports a magazine M which in the present instance is provided with front and back stacks H and [2 of bobbins from which weft ends W extend to the thread holder designated generally at H. The

lay I3 is provided with a shuttle box M to receive the shuttle S containing a bobbin B. The transferrer arm i5 is provided to transfer the lowest bobbin in one or the other of the stacks H and [2 into the shuttle S upon depletion of the weftof 'bobbin B. The magazine can be rocked by means ofmechanism l6 operating in timed relation with the shifting shuttle boxes not shown but located at the opposite. end of the. loom. The lay is reciprocated backwardly and forwardly by means 3 of a connector I? driven by the usual top or crank shaft not shown.

The loom supports an air cylinder having a. piston 2! attached by rod 22 to the upper end of a lever 23. A connecting rod 24 between the lay and lever 23 moves the piston rearwardly when the lay is moving from front to back center to create a partial vacuum or subatmospheric pressures within a hose or tube 25. When the lay is moving forwardly the pump is ineffective to create subatmospheric pressures and normal atmospheric pressure is momentarily restored in the pneumatic system.

A thread collector C is held in fixed position by a stand 26 secured to the loomside and has its hollow interior pneumatically connected with the tube 25. The collectorincludes in its construction a base 28 which affords support for the improved forms of thread holder to be described.

The thread holder is made with a thread receiver having upwardly extending diverging horns 3| and 32 defining between them a downwardly tapered space 33 terminatingina vertical upwardly opening thread slot 34. When new bobbins are placed in the magazine their weft ends are dropped between the horns 3i and 32 and into the slot 34 from which position they were drawn pneumatically toward the thread collector C and are preferably of such length that they may become entangled with other weft ends within the collector which serve as an anchorage.

The matter thus far described is of known construction and may be for instance as shown in my prior Patent No. 2,199,353.

In the preferred form of the invention I use a tube which is secured to the base 28 by means of a screw or the like 4|, see Fig. 1. This tube extends forwardly beyond the base 28- as suggested for instance in Fig. 4 to afford support for the aforesaid receiver 30 and terminates near the slot 34. Extending part way across the end of the tube adjacent to slot 34 is a plate 42 having a preferably straight smooth rounded edge 43 which faces in a direction away from the magazine, or away from the direction from which the weft threads W approach the tube,'see Fig. 4.- This plate together with the right hand part of the tube as viewed in Fig. 7 forms an intake mouth 45 having a straight side defined by the edge 43.

Located within the tube and secured thereto in stationary position and spaced from the plate I 42 is a baffle 46 shaped more or less as shown in Fig. 4 and having an edge 41 which is serrated or provided with teeth 48. These teeth point in a direction opposite to that in which the smooth surface 43 faces, and the baffle preferably extends across the tube far enough to produce a bend Bl in the Weft ends at the right of the straight parts thereof indicated at 49 in Fig. 4. The smooth edge 43 and serrated edge 41 are preferably parallel to each other and may be located to produce the desired amount of bendedges 41 and 52.

When the piston of the pump is moving forwardly and the air pressures within the tube temporarily return to normal atmospheric-pressure the weft ends due to their elasticity may tend to have a retrograde movement in a direction toward the magazine, but the baffle resists such movement due partly to the fact that the weft ends are bent and partly to the holding action of the serrated edge 41.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the tube 50 is provided with end plate 42 as in the preferred form, and a baffle 5| similar to but of somewhat difierent form from baille 46 issecured within tube 50 and provided with a serrated edge 52. In addition, there is a second bafile 53 which faces in a direction opposite to the direction in which bafiie 5| faces. This second baffle has an edge 54 which may be either smooth similar to edge 43, or serrated as are In Fig. 6 the second baffle 53 is shown with a serrated edge and in such position as to produce a second bend B2 in the weft ends within the tube 50 to the right of the straight parts 55 thereof.

The baffles may be secured in any desired manner to the interior of their respective tubes and are preferably stationary. The plate 42 which is used in both forms of the invention may be set into a notch 56 cut in that end of the tube adjacent to the slot 34 and held in position'by welding, brazing or in any other approved manner, see Fig. 8. When the weft being used requires the preferred tube 40 the latter will be held in base 28 by set screw 4|, but if a type of weft is used requirin greater holding action the tube 50 can be substituted for the tube 40; In both cases the tube will be set so that the smooth edge 43 will face in a direction away from the magazine as shown in Figs. 4 and Band at least one bafile will face in the opposite direction. The edges of the baffles are preferablyparallel to edge-43.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple form of thread holder including a tube one end of which is partly closed by plate 42 to form an intake mouth having a' straight rounded smooth edge 43 facing away: from the magazine. It will also be seen that at which engage the weft ends to prevent them from moving toward the intake mouth. When two baflies are used as in the modified form of the invention one or both may be provided with serrated edges, but the edges whether serrated or not will be so related as to produce a plurality of bends in the weft ends the effect of which is to impede retrograde movement of the weft ends. All of the edges 41, 52 and 54 are preferably parallel, and the serrations in addition to preventing retrograde movement also 'as sist in holding the threads in spaced relation and near the center of the stream of air moving through thetube.

Having thus described my invention it ;will be 1 seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without" departing from the spirit and scope of'the invendetails" tion and I do not wish to be limitedto the herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a pneumatic thread holder t the weft ends of reserve bobbins-ina. weft replenishing loom having a hollow thread a collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist; a tube having one 1 end in pneumatic communication with the thread collector and having a threadintake-mouth at sason iac "d the other end'thereof', and meanswithin the tube presenting a serrated edge formed with teeth positioned to engage threads in the tubaandresist movement thereof toward the'intake mouth and also hold the threads in spaced relation.

2. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom having a hollow thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tube having one end in pneumatic communication with the thread collector and having a thread intake mouth at the other end thereof, and means within the tube presenting a serrated edge formed with teeth positioned to engage threads in the tube and bend said threads to resist movement thereof toward the intake mouth and also hold the threads in spaced relation.

3. In a pnemnatic thread holder for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom having a hollow thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tube having one end in pneumatic communication with the thread collector, means partly closing the other end of the tube and defining an intake mouth having a smooth substantially straight edge around which the weft ends bend as they enter the tube, and means within the tube intermediate the ends thereof presenting a serrated edge formed with teeth placed to engage the weft ends as they extend from said intake mouth to said thread collector and effective to resist movement of weft ends within the tube toward said intake mouth and also hold the threads in spaced relation.

4. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom having a hollow thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tube having one end in pneumatic communication with the thread collector, means partly closing the other end of the tube and defining an intake mouth having a smooth substantially straight edge facing away from the bobbins and around which the weft ends bend as they enter the tube, and means within the tube intermediate the ends thereof presenting a serrated edge facing toward the bobbins and placed to engage and bend the weft ends as they extend from said intake mouth to said thread collector and effective to resist movement of weft ends within the tube toward said intake mouth.

5. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom having a hollow thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tube having one end in pneumatic communication with the thread collector, a plate extending partly across the other end of the tube and having a smooth substantially straight edge which with the tube defines for the weft ends an intake mouth the straight part of which is toward the bobbins, means within the tube between the ends thereof presenting a substantially straight serrated edge facing in a direction opposite to the direction in which said smooth edge faces and so located as to produce a bend in weft ends extending from the intake mouth to said thread collector and resist movement of threads in engagement therewith toward said intake mouth.

6. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom having a hollow thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tube having one end in pneumatic communication with the thread collector, a plate extending part way across the other end of the tube and with the latter forming aniintake mouth for the weft en'ds",said-plate have ing a smooth rounded edge facing away from-the direction from which the weft ends approach the intake mouth, and aibafiie within the tube spaced from said plate and having a serrated edge parallel to said smooth edge but facing in a direction opposite to that in which said smooth'edge faces. In 'a pneumatic thread holder forzthei-weft ends of reserve bobbins in. a weft replenishing loomhaving a hollow .thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tube having one end in pneumatic communication with the thread collector, a plate extending part way across the other end of the tube and with the latter forming an intake mouth for the weft ends, said plate having a smooth rounded edge facing away from the direction from which the weft ends approach the intake mouth, and a pair of spaced baflies within the tube arranged along the length thereof, one of said bafiles having a serrated edge substantially parallel to said smooth edge, and said baiiles facing in opposite directions.

8. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom having a hollow thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tube having one end in pneumatic communication with the thread collector, a plate extending part way across the other end of the tube and with the latter forming an intake mouth for the weft ends, said plate having a smooth rounded edge facing away from the direction from which the weft ends approach the intake mouth, and a pair of spaced baffles within the tube arranged along the length thereof, one of said baflies having a serrated edge substantially parallel to said smooth edge, and said baffles facing in opposite directions, the baffle adjacent to said plate having its edge facing in a direction opposite to that in which said smooth edge faces.

9. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom having a hollow thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tube having one end in pneumatic communication with the thread collector, a plate extending part way across the other end of the tube and with the latter forming an intake mouth for the weft ends, said plate having a smooth rounded edge facing away from the direction from which the weft ends approach the intake mouth, and a pair of spaced baffles within the tube arranged along the length thereof, said baffies having thread engaging edges parallel to said smooth edge, one of said bafiles having a serrated edge, and said bafiies facing in opposite directions and effective to create bends in threads in engagement therewith.

10. A tube for the pneumatic thread holder of a weft replenishing loom, said tube having one end partly closed by a transverse plate having a straight smooth rounded edge, and a baflle within the tube having a sernated edge facing in a direction opposite to that in which the smooth edge faces.

11. A tube for the pneumatic thread holder of a weft replenishing loom, said tube having one end partly closed by a transverse plate formed with a smooth rounded substantially straight edge, and a baffle secured within the tube spaced from said plate and formed with a serrated edge substantially parallel to said smooth edge and facing in a direction opposite to that in which said smooth edge faces.

12. A tube for the pneumatic thread holder of mam-m9- 7, aawtf r'eplerxishing-:1o:1m,said .tube 1 having? one and partly closed by a' transverse plate formed with a smooth rounded substantiallyatraight edge, and- 1 a. pair" of spaced ibames within I the-: tube arranged along the. length thereon". saidv bames having Jthread. engaging straight; edges paral1e1 t0 said smooth edgeandvfacingin' opposite direcflons,1the edge of at least oneof said baflies :being serrated; RICHARD G. TURNER.

"REFERENCES CITEfi- "The following"refrences' are "of recbz'd in th fil of this atent:

* UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,199,354 Turner Apr. 30, 1940 $259,043 Payne Oct.14, 1941 2427,5381 'Iwfner Sept. 16, 194'! 

